Hundreds poured into St. Mary of Carmel Church in West Dallas this weekend for the final farewell to Felix H. Lozada, a man praised as a gift to those who knew him.

Lozada, a World War II Navy veteran and blue-collar advocate of many causes, passed away Tuesday at the age of 94.

"I know all of you are grateful for the gift of Felix," the Rev. Íñigo López said in English for those gathered under the church chandeliers. "May his life continue for those of us who follow in his steps," he finished, switching to Spanish.

Felix Lozada, shown in 2012

(Mona Reeder/The Dallas Morning News)

Over two days of Catholic and military rituals, Lozada's body lay in a blue casket, draped with a U.S. flag. Around him were multiple symbols of faith, portraits of St. Teresa of Avila, St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

His golf clubs wrapped with red roses were there, too, for sports was like religion to him.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Mayor Pro Tem Monica Alonzo gave their sympathies to Lozada's weeping widow, Maria Ramirez Lozada. In July, the city of Dallas dedicated a bridge plaza to Lozada in recognition of his service and, maybe, his fights with the city. An Independence Day fireworks celebration followed.

Eight-year-old Nicholas Garcia placed dirt on the casket of his grandfather Felix Lozada at the burial ceremony in Dallas.

(Andy Jacobsohn/Staff Photographer)

Lozada's last fight was against the Trinity Groves development spreading into his neighborhood, La Bajada, just north of Singleton Boulevard and stretching to the banks of the Trinity River.

Through the decades, La Bajada and the other segregated barrios of West Dallas were often forgotten by city officials, the retired barber and baker had said in interviews this year.

That's why he fought for paved roads, a medical clinic, low-income housing and playgrounds and ball fields for children.

After Friday's wake and Saturday's funeral Mass, remembrances of Lozada tumbled. He was a man whose nearly century of living defined the Mexican-American struggle for identity and respect and its emphasis on family.

"He was the father everyone wished they had," said Delia Garcia, a church worker.

"He would ride to our board meetings on his bicycle," said Rosa Lopez, executive director of Vecinos Unidos, a housing nonprofit. "He was usually the first there. He was such a beautiful Aztec warrior."

Maria Ramirez, wife of Felix Lozada, stands after military funeral honors during Lozada's burial service at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas on Saturday.

(Andy Jacobsohn/Staff Photographer)

Crosses were handed out to the family members of Felix H. Lozada, who was buried Saturday in Calvary Hill Cemetery.

Mourners wait as the casket carrying Felix Lozada enters the church before the funeral service for Lozada at St Mary of Carmel Church in Dallas.

(Andy Jacobsohn/Staff Photographer)

"I'll never forget when he came to the scholarship dance for Amigos de Pinkston," Mary Lou Paras said of a high school event two years ago. "Oh, he could dance."

"Felix represents the history of the Mexican-American community," said state Rep. Roberto Alonzo, ticking off Lozada's service in the U.S. military and the West Dallas barrios.

Lozada was born in Dallas in 1922. His father, a Mexican immigrant, had been a sharecropper. His Mexican immigrant mother died when he was a small child and young Felix quickly learned basic survival skills, like cooking, he once said. He never got past seventh grade, though he said life gave him razor-sharp math skills. Earlier this year, he was given an honorary degree from Jesuit College Preparatory School. Lozada called the honor "kind of embarrassing."

After the Mass on Saturday morning, a funeral procession of shiny black limos and dented sedans promenaded down Singleton Boulevard past Wimpy's Famous Hamburgers, auto shops, taquerias and new apartment construction. Some walked out of mechanic workshops to stare.

With Dallas' signature bridge in sight, the vehicles made a sharp left. The procession of lighted cars headed down Bataan Street and into La Bajada, the neighborhood Lozada loved and fought to improve and preserve.

The vehicles then weaved around the Trinity River banks and the Trinity Groves restaurant cluster, past the new Felix H. Lozada Sr. Gateway and onto the huge Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.

"I know all of you are grateful for the gift of Felix." -- Catholic priest at funeral for West Dallas Latino leader

At Calvary Hill Cemetery in northwest Dallas, a veterans group planted the Stars and Stripes among the oak trees near Lozada's plot. A bugle player in the white uniform of the U.S. Navy played taps. The 24 notes were mournful perfection.

But the tribute didn't end there.

A relative played an accordion and a family friend played a guitar as they sang the ballad "Una Cruz de Madera." It symbolizes a man's humble struggle to be remembered only by a wood cross and a serenata.

"I don't want weeping," they sang. "I don't want pain. ... The only thing I want at my wake is a serenade."